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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28393920">Hens in the Garden</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/coppertellurium/pseuds/coppertellurium'>coppertellurium</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(he's slightly more than mentioned but i don't want to mislead about his significance), Chickens, Established Relationship, Gardens &amp; Gardening, M/M, Mentioned Lance (Voltron), Pets</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:19:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,502</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28393920</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/coppertellurium/pseuds/coppertellurium</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Shiro was not ready for new pets in any sense. He hadn't bought any bedding, any food, any safety measures. He hadn't even talked to Keith about it.</p>
<p>No time like the present.</p>
<p>-----</p>
<p>This is my secret santa for AtlasM in the sheith empire server exchange!</p>
<p>I hope you enjoy it</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith/Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hens in the Garden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thank you to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBlueshiftNebula/pseuds/TheBlueshiftNebula">TheBlueshiftNebula</a> for the beta and also for talking to me extensively about chickens!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shiro presses end call on his data pad and sighs.</p>
<p>“Hey babe?” Shiro paused to hear Keith hum in acknowledgement. “How do you feel about chickens?” </p>
<p>Keith’s head popped up to look at him over the back of the couch, his messy hair sticking up in the back from falling asleep watching a weekend marathon of a television show neither of them follow.</p>
<p>“Uh, I don’t have any strong feelings about chickens in particular. Why?”</p>
<p>Shiro swallowed. </p>
<p>“Well, do you remember last month when we were visiting near the Garrison? When we met Lance’s family, I was sort of thinking aloud during dinner. I’d been considering that it might be a good idea to get some chickens for the garden.”</p>
<p>“The fact that Lance was sitting across from you at dinner that evening and you just got off the phone with him is about to become very relevant, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>“He’s bringing chickens.” Shiro set his data pad on their dining room table and moved toward the couch.</p>
<p>“And these chickens are live? He’s not bringing us a few too many rotisserie chickens?” Keith asked warily.</p>
<p>“They’re pets. For the garden.”</p>
<p>“Should I tell you I’m not a big fan of birds?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shiro collapsed face first over the back of the couch, turning his head to look upside down at Keith.</p>
<p>“I know you think they’re creepy.”</p>
<p>“I do.”</p>
<p>“I apologize that we didn’t get to have this conversation before Lance took it upon himself to bring us some chickens. I promise he didn’t okay this with me or check to see whether you were comfortable around birds.” Shiro stood up and came around the couch to sit beside Keith, leaning his head on Keith’s shoulder.</p>
<p>“Is it okay if we keep the chickens Lance is already bringing? I won’t expect you to help with them if you don’t want to.”</p>
<p>“Having a pet is a big responsibility. Are you sure you’re ready for chickens?” Keith smiled and Shiro knew he was joking, but that didn’t stop the muscles in his back from tensing. They genuinely weren’t ready, they’d done absolutely no prep.</p>
<p>“Hey now, don’t get stressed,” Keith’s words interrupted Shiro’s thoughts, and he began to rub the tension from his back. “Yes, we can keep the chickens. And it’ll be okay, we’ll just have to prep for them in fast forward since they’ll already be here.”<br/>
_________________</p>
<p>Lance had brought a small makeshift coop and a bag of feed with him once he popped in with their unexpected arrivals. After a rundown on chicken care Shiro found concerningly short, Lance directed Shiro and Keith through constructing the coop. As soon as it was complete, Keith insisted Lance go inside and pull up reliable reference guides on keeping chickens. Supposedly in case Shiro forgot something, in reality because Keith suspected Lance had forgotten something. And that whatever it was, it was probably important.</p>
<p>As Lance stomped up the steps to their back door, Shiro pulled Keith to his chest by the hand.</p>
<p>“Hey baby?” Shiro whispered into Keith’s temple. “No pressure, do you want to help me name them?” Shiro watched as Keith’s cheeks and the top of his ears flushed a pretty pink and he gave a jerky nod. “Let’s go sit in the yard with the ladies. Maybe they’ll tell us their names,” Shiro said with a laugh.</p>
<p>Keith tugged Shiro out into the middle of the yard to sit cross-legged in the grass. Three chickens pecked around in the shade under the forsythia bushes, one with black and white barred feathers, one with funny tufts of feathers sticking out on the sides of its face, and a big brown one. The black and white chicken immediately made her way around Shiro and then into his lap.</p>
<p>“I like Lulu for this one. What do you think?” Shiro looked to Keith with a hopeful gleam.</p>
<p>“Very cute. I think it suits her.” Keith’s smile was indulgent, reserving his more guarded expression for the hens making their way into the pollinator bed, the only flower bed in the yard. He watched as the big brown hen made her way carefully over toward his side, keeping a respectful distance. Keith watched her settle with mild relief.</p>
<p>The hen with the tufts, unlike the brown hen, seemed very curious. She was very energetic and just calling her curious would be an understatement. The chicken was clearly an explorer in another life. After a few spirited runs around the perimeter of the yard, Shiro realized she had started to climb him. A brief argument with Lulu established she had no plans to share her spot in Shiro’s lap, and the tufted bird began to shuffle her way up Shiro’s sleeves and onto his shoulder. After a thorough investigation of it, she knocked Shiro’s hat off.</p>
<p>“What do you think about Mimi for this one?” Shiro asked, glancing at the hen on his shoulder in lieu of turning his head.</p>
<p>“Mimi?” Keith asked with some surprise.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Shiro said. “I feel like Mimi is a name that implies a certain attitude and I think she’s got it. What do you think?”</p>
<p>“It suits her.” The smile Keith got in answer was charming and boyish, and Keith’s heart fluttered just like the first time he’d seen Shiro smile so big he could tell he had dimples.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you want to name the last one?” Shiro’s shy suggestion couldn’t belie the hopeful tone or the equally hopeful expression on his face. Keith turned to look for the brown hen and found, to his great surprise, that she had moved in closer to him. She sat right next to him, quiet and reserved, but clearly still enjoying their company. Keith stared at her for a long moment.</p>
<p>“Gloria,” Keith said with confidence.</p>
<p>“Oh? Did she tell you?” Shiro asked with a wink.</p>
<p>“She looks like a Gloria. If that’s as close as it comes to pets telling me their names, I’ll have to take it. Just be prepared if Kosmo ever changes his mind about being fine with the name Kosmo.”<br/>
_________________</p>
<p>“Hey babe,” Keith called from their back porch. Shiro poked his head around the corner from the kitchen. “I think we’re going to need to add chicken wire to the fencing around the yard.”</p>
<p>Though Shiro knew that was something they would need to do anyway, he moved to join Keith on the porch to see what prompted the statement. Shiro had been looking at the online chicken care guides Lance had suggested and knew Keith had been absolutely correct about the information they would need and didn’t get from their friend.</p>
<p>Closing the door behind him, Shiro came to stand beside Keith, his hand coming to rest naturally on Keith’s shoulder. They surveyed the damage for a long moment. The garden looked a bit of a wreck. The tender greens had been decimated, the herb garden in much the same condition, and Mimi had partially dug up the garlic scratching in the mulch.</p>
<p>“I think we can salvage the garlic. Good thing we had those covers over some of the raised beds though. I’ll plant the starts in the cold frame while we wait for the chicken protection stuff to come in.”</p>
<p>“You already ordered stuff?” Keith asked, turning to Shiro with wide eyes.</p>
<p>“I was up late on chicken business.” Keith snorted out a laugh and turned back to continue surveying the yard and the garden. </p>
<p>Lulu appeared to have assisted in eating Shiro’s garden, but seemed to be sticking near to the coop where Gloria still sat, tempted away briefly only on the promise of food. Mimi appeared to have been the primary culprit in the attack on their leafy greens.</p>
<p>“Do you want to go get the chicken wire and I’ll figure how much we’ll need? One of us should probably stay here until it’s up since they shouldn’t have been able to get out of that coop. I locked them in before we came in for the night.”<br/>
_________________</p>
<p>The next morning was significantly smoother, if still not ideal for Shiro. Keith had put up the chicken wire in the yard while he cleaned up the mess so he could work in the garden without worrying about the chickens while they waited for their chicken-proofing supplies to come in, and that appeared to have worked just fine. The replanted garlic looked a little haggard but otherwise healthy with no disturbance in the mulch. He should have just enough time for one last yield before the first freeze, and he had already transplanted his slow growers into the cold frame just in case. Shiro would be able to get the rest of the seedlings planted in before his last harvest when he’d let the hens scratch around in the plants on purpose before dressing the garden for the winter.</p>
<p>The only real issue seemed to be that Mimi flew the coop again, literally. Lulu and Gloria seemed to still be getting comfortable with their new surroundings, hanging out in the coop. Mimi on the other hand, with no tempting garden to ravage and unable to coax Lulu out without one, found her way onto the top of the coop to survey the yard. Shiro was going to need to figure out how she kept getting loose.</p>
<p>Shiro heard the back door open and close quietly as Keith joined him on the patio. “What’s the damage?” he asked as he leaned his forehead against Shiro’s back. “I’m afraid to look.”</p>
<p>“Good news is that the garden is fine.” Keith sighed in relief. “Bad news is that Mimi is walking around on top of the coop and I didn’t let her out.”</p>
<p>Keith moved from leaning into Shiro’s back to lean into his side. “Is that such a bad thing? We were able to keep them in the yard and you said the plan is to let them basically wander the whole garden once we have something to keep them from eating all the food.”</p>
<p>“Predators.”</p>
<p>“Oh. I didn’t even think about that. I haven’t seen any around before though.” Keith looked up at Shiro with a small pout, brows furrowed. Shiro smoothed his thumb over Keith’s forehead and planted a kiss over his temple, then wrapped both arms around Keith.</p>
<p>“I haven’t seen them around before either, but we didn’t have chickens in our yard then. I’m not sure what might be keeping an eye out for hens to snatch, but I know I don’t want them snatching ours.”</p>
<p>“Then what’s on the agenda, Chicken Whisperer?” Keith asked as he wound his arms around Shiro’s neck. “Do you want to try new locks before we get a new coop, or should we go ahead and get the new coop now since it’s getting cold?”</p>
<p>“We can get the new coop now. We’ll need to pick up some extra fencing for the yard to keep predators out while we figure out whether any lock can contain Mimi, probably some reflectors too. I think there are hawks around here.”</p>
<p>“Chicken wire should keep chickens in and predators out,” Keith said with a sulky expression.</p>
<p>“It really should.”<br/>
_________________</p>
<p>Setting up the coop and installing the additional fencing properly took the entire rest of the day, but Shiro managed to finish with only a little help. He was relieved when the ladies didn't seem to need any convincing on their change of scenery, happy for the more spacious housing. On the suggestion of every chicken source he could find, he added hardware cloth to every place he thought might be wanting in avian security, including extra on the outside of the run beneath their coop.</p>
<p>With the hens settling in nicely, and even shy Gloria clucking at the other two, himself, and Keith, Shiro could finally calm down about not being prepared. The gardens weren't ready for the chickens to range freely, but they had a nice yard to forage in and he and Keith would have time to fix everything up before spring came. They shouldn’t even start laying for a few more weeks.</p>
<p>Shiro took his time showering off the work of the day, with the water as hot as he could stand it. Keith would be back home by the time he was done and he was looking forward to a quiet, cozy evening. Shiro smelled something cooking as he came out of the bedroom.</p>
<p>Keith was standing in the kitchen, looking through the windows over the sink at the garden beyond. Shiro snuck up behind him as quietly as he could and gently grabbed Keith’s waist. To Shiro’s disappointment, no jump or gasp. Keith leaned back against Shiro’s chest, his eyes sparkling with mischief.</p>
<p>“Welcome home, baby. Did you hear me coming?” Shiro asked as he buried his nose in Keith’s hair.</p>
<p>“I saw your reflection in the window. You’ll have to be sneakier than that to keep the glass from telling on you.” Keith turned in Shiro’s arms and kissed his forehead, nose, and both cheeks before kissing his lips. “How was your day with the chickens?”</p>
<p>“The ladies took to their new coop like hens. I got all the new fencing up around the yard and sealed up a couple of places in the coop that weren’t completely sealed. They should be snug as a bug in a rug.”</p>
<p>“Good, then you’ll be free to come on the walk after dinner. Stella’s missed you the past few nights.” Hearing her name, Shiro’s cat jumped on the kitchen island with a loud trill. </p>
<p>“Get down, naughty,” Shiro scolded, walking her to her cat tree in the living room. She purred loudly, entirely immune to all reprimand. He heard the sound of a spray bottle: Keith cleaning the counter. “You can drag me around as much as you like this evening. I’m sure Kosmo doesn’t plan on giving Keith a break.”</p>
<p>“He never does,” Keith said from the kitchen, pulling a sheet pan out of the oven.<br/>
_________________</p>
<p>The following morning, Shiro once again found Keith on the patio just before dawn. He wrapped his arms tightly around Keith’s slim waist and kissed down the column of his neck.</p>
<p>“I love you baby. Thank you for letting me keep the chickens.” Shiro pressed another kiss to Keith’s neck as Mimi poked around in the run underneath the coop.</p>
<p>“I love you too, and I even like the chickens. If Lance tells you he’s bringing any more though, tell him I’ll cook him in the rotisserie with the chickens. Just to scare him off any more unsolicited pets.” Keith chuckled as he pressed a kiss to Shiro’s hair. </p>
<p>“Who’s your favorite hen?” Shiro asked as he nuzzled into the juncture between Keith's neck and shoulder and tickled Keith’s sides ineffectually. Unlike himself, Keith wasn’t ticklish.</p>
<p>“Bold of you to assume I don’t like all the ladies,” Keith gasped in mock offense. “It’s Gloria.”</p>
<p>“Of course it is,” Shiro said with a laugh.</p>
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